âOver years with the massive deployment of Internet-related resources worldwide and the integration of IP-enabled consumer devices connected directly to the network, the issue of the depletion of IPv4 (Internet Protocol, version 4) addresses is becoming pertinent. In addition to other features, IPv6 (Internet Protocol, version 6) with its 128 bit address space is particularly aimed at addressing the shortage of public IPv4 addresses. However, the deployment of IPv6 has happened at much slower rate than many had expected (Read more...).

Resolution 64 'IP address allocation and encouraging the deployment of IPv6' to promote awareness of the availability of IPv4 addresses and the deployment of IPv6 was adopted by ITU Member States and Sector Members during the World Telecommunication Standardization Assembly (WTSA-08, Johannesburg 2008), then revised in WTSA-12 (Dubai, 2012).

The purpose of this website is to provide information about global IPv6 activities, thus facilitating awareness-raising of IPv6 deployment, as well as providing information related to training events being undertaken by relevant entities in the Internet community. ITU Members are invited to submit contributions on Resolution 64 implementation to ITU-T Study Group 2 and/or Study Group 3, as stipulated in WTSA Resolution 64.

ITU's role

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Development of IPv6 by the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) began in 1993, in response to a series of perceived problems, primarily the exhaustion of the IPv4 address space. The issues surrounding IPv4 address depletion and IPv6 deployment are highly complicated, spreading across economical, technical, operational and policy dimensions. A non-exhaustive list of articles and websites could be a useful reference to explore these issues in greater depth.

With regard to international public policy issues pertaining to the Internet and the management of critical Internet resources ITU is mandated by the following Resolutions:

ITU, with a unique public/private partnership composed of 193 governments and more than 700 private sector entities, could provide mechanisms for a consensus-based approach to deployment, management and policy making strategies relating to IPv6.

ITU is contributing actively in areas such as:

Promotion, capacity building and technical assistance for developing countries

Cooperation and contribution to the work of relevant organizations (e.g. RIRs)

Technical and standardization issues as appropriate

ITU is working together with other organizations including IETF, Regional Internet Registries or RIRs and/or the Number Resource Organization (NRO) and ICANN in driving IPv6 deployment.